Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Epley
What the majority of saints do not understand because pastors are not tooting their own horns the tithing is shared by the pastors to the other facets of the ministry. If the majority of evangelist only recieved what came in the offering for them there would be no evangelists they could not operate. The pastor out of the tithe makes up the difference. If missionaries recieved ONLY offerings taken for them many missionaries would have to come home again Pastors out of the tithe keep them in their field of labor. Men who are starting home missions are supported mainly by Pastors who out of the tithe help sustain new works. The average Pastor's tithing account is NOT like the Dead Sea where it is all intake and no outgo. THEN most pastors out of the tithe are the biggest by far contributor to the local assembly in maintaining the church property and functions.
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Okay --- let me give two scenarios of how these pastors may use the tithes in your church.
(A) ALL the tithes are deposited into a "Hometown Apostolic Church Tithe Account". Pastor then writes himself a salary check from that account and deposit it into his "personal account" - from which he pays his personal expenses. As the need arises for evangelists, missionaries, church repairs, benevolence, etc, etc, Pastor writes checks from the "HAC Tithe Account" . Additional salaries, if any, (assistant pastors, secretaries, etc) are also paid from the "HAC Tithe Account".
OR
(B) Pastor has only the "HAC Tithe Account" that he uses for personal expenses,
and all the other expenses I listed above that are "church" related.
I understand how some ministers came to either scenario. In the old days, people paid their tithes with produce, hens, eggs, side of beef, a butchered hog, etc. etc .... it was given directly to the Pastor. As more and more people came off the farms and began earning real money, people still gave their $$ tithes directly to the Pastor. That evolved into what some of you have described as your experiences.
I guess my question in either scenario would be - how is the money counted and handled? What if a saint writes one check for $200 and designates in the memo: $150 tithes / $50 offering - how does that $50 ever get to the general fund? Do pastors TELL their saints to write separate checks? Do the saints get two separate contribution statements at the end of the year? One for "Tithes" and one for all other contributions? If the saint was ever audited by the IRS - this would raise all kinds of flags and in turn cause audits of the church and the pastor.
I am afraid that unless scenario A were used and VERY detailed records were kept by the Pastor for both the "HAC Tithe Account" AND his personal account, he would find himself in a heap of trouble with the government if there was ever an IRS audit of the pastor's tax return or the church.
Based upon my perception of Brother Epley, I believe he is an honest man and does not abuse the tithes that he receives - however, if he ever has a disgruntled saint that wants to bring him down, all it takes is one phone call. For his sake (and his wife's sake) - I pray that he has kept and will continue to keep VERY accurate and detailed records of EVERY penny spent and how it was spent.
And people - don't kid yourself, we are living in a time when the government is looking for ways to bring down churches and it is only going to get worse at this rate.
Personally - I have been very blessed all my life. In the churches I have attended, ALL the contributions (including tithes) have been deposited into one bank account. The pastor received his salary / housing from that. All other ministers, secretaries, maintenance workers, etc received their income from the same account. ALL church expenses, (evangelists, missionaries, church maintenance, etc etc) came from that account as well. ALL this was disclosed at annual business meetings. To me - that is the only logical way for a church to operate - this way everything is above board and it leaves no questions for "where did the money go" type questions.
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